February 3, 2023 by
A&S News
From using AI to search for extraterrestrial intelligence to using cell phone signals to measure downtown economic recovery, scholars from a range of disciplines across the Faculty of Arts & Science are sharing their expertise on a variety of issues in the media.
Here’s some of what they had to say this week.
January 27, 2023
- Department of Geography & Planning graduate student Emily Power talks to CBC News online about Hamilton’s plan to restrict short-term rentals due to the affordable housing crisis.
- Arne Kislenko, adjunct professor in the International Relations program at Trinity College, comments for the Toronto Star (paywall) on how difficult it is to predict how the Ukraine-Russia war will evolve.
- Department of Computer Science University Professor Emeritus Geoffrey Hinton is referenced by The Globe and Mail (paywall) for backing a new Canadian AI venture capital fund.
- Department of English Professor and Vice-Dean, Undergraduate of the Faculty of Arts & Science Randy Boyagoda discusses with the Catholic Register the popularity of horror movies. Later in the week, he comments for the The Globe and Mail (paywall) on how AI technology ChatGPT is prompting consideration of how students are graded, even though it’s still early days.
January 28, 2023
- Department of Geography & Planning Professor and Infrastructure Institute at the School of Cities Director Matti Siemiatycki comments for BBC News online, Yahoo! Canada News and CityNews online on the recent violent events on Toronto’s transit system. He also talks to CTV News online about the importance of maintaining aging infrastructure.
- Department of Political Science and Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy University Professor Janice Stein is referenced in the Hamilton Spectator (paywall) in an op-ed on key takeaways from the World Economic Forum’s annual Global Risks Report.
- Dani Nedal, assistant professor of political science and at the Munk School, comments for CBC news online on the West’s shift in providing Ukraine with more sophisticated weapons.
January 29, 2023
- Department of Psychology Assistant Professor Taryn Grieder comments for the Toronto Star (paywall) and The Week.com on the risks associated with alcohol consumption.
- January 30, 2023
- Dunlap Institute for Astronomy & Astrophysics student Peter Ma and project scientist Cherry Ng share with The Globe and Mail (paywall), Daily Beast (paywall), Popular Science, The Mirror, Space.com, CBC: As It Happens, CP24 online, CTV News online, The Weather Channel, LiveScience and CBC: Metro Morning their research that uses AI to search for extraterrestrial intelligence.
- Vice-President International Joseph Wong of Political Science and the Munk School tells The Globe and Mail (paywall) that universities look to Canadian authorities for actionable direction on national security matters.
- Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology PhD student Alice Zhu tells Bloomberg (paywall) that biodegradable plastics may end up doing more harm than good for the environment.
- Munk School Director and Political Science Professor Peter Loewen discusses with The Walrus the current state of disinformation and journalism.
- Director of the Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society Gillian Hadfield talks to The Globe and Mail (paywall) about ChatGPT as a leap forward in technological advancements.
January 31, 2023
- Ron Deibert, director of the Munk School’s Citizen Lab and political science professor, comments for The Washington Post (paywall) on concerns surrounding cybersecurity collaboration between the United States and four allies in the Middle East and North Africa.
February 1, 2023
- Department of History Professor Emeritus Margaret MacMillan and Munk School journalist fellow-in-residence Paul Wells discuss on Toronto Star: The Paul Wells Show (paywall) the shift in global power.
- School of Cities Director and Department of Geography & Planning Professor Karen Chapple shares with CBC News online, CTV News London, CTV News Ottawa and Fresno Bee (paywall) her research connecting people’s cell phone signals and downtown activity with economic recovery in North American cities.
- School of the Environment Assistant Professor Teresa Kramarz talks to CBC News online about factors to be considered when making a sustainable transition away from fossil fuels.
February 2, 2023
- Department of Psychology Professor Emeritus C. Peter Herman shares with the Washington Post (paywall) what is behind the “what-the-hell” effect, a term coined by him and his colleague for when people seem to give up on new habits and resolutions, like healthy diets.
- Nigel Carvalho, urban planner at the School of Cities Infrastructure Institute, writes in the Toronto Star (paywall) that a recent university report shows investment gaps in social infrastructure for Black Torontonians.
- Ecology & Evolutionary Biology Associate Professor Martin Krkosek comments for The Narwhal on a report from Fisheries and Oceans Canada that he says downplays the threat posed by salmon farms.